Life's Highway
by StraightFire HugLife
Summary: -Prequel to Life's Zig Zags- At 18 years old JJ leaves her life behind and begins a life altering journey in order to live her dream of becoming a professional wrestler. Follow her journey as she travels from Kansas to Canada to the WWE Performance Center in Florida as she cruises along life's highway and meet the friends and foes she will make along the way.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

I climb out of the car with a groan. I stretch, my stiff muscles and joints protesting the movement. I've been in my car for the past twenty-four hours traveling from Kansas to Canada, but I finally made it to my destination. I look up at the gray building in front of me and a chill goes down my spine. I escaped my past the moment I drove away from Kansas and I am now looking at my future. My eyes drift to the sign on the door that reads Storm Wrestling Academy and I get butterflies in my stomach. Now that I'm here I'm too nervous to walk in the door. "Quit being a fucking baby." I curse at myself before turning back to my car and opening the back door. I pull out a small duffle bag and unzip the side pocket and check for the hundredth time that the envelope containing the 3,750 Canadian Dollars is there along with a note from a doctor and another copy of my resume, I had already mailed one in along with my 500 dollar deposit for a spot in the class. I had to scratch and claw for two years in order to make enough money to not only pay the tuition but buy a junker of a car and apply for temporary residency in Canada which was another 100 dollars. I don't have much left to my name and I still need to find myself a place to live while I am here.

With everything in check, I grab my bag out of the car, closing the door. I take a deep breath to clear the last of my nerves and walk determinedly up to the door of the building and open the door. I look around in awe. At the back of the building against one of the walls sits the ring where there is a class going on. I don't take my eyes off the ring until I hear a voice behind me, "can I help you?" I turn around and come face to face with a woman wearing a SWA jacket. "Um, yes." I stammer nervously. "I'm Jenny I'm supposed to start training today?" The girl smiles, "sure, we've been expecting you. Come with me into the office and we will get your paperwork all in order." I smile back and follow the woman into the office. "I'm Rachel. I help out here at the school." She says introducing herself sitting down behind a desk as is it across from her. She shuffles through some folders before coming across one with my name on it. She flips through the pages, "okay, we received your deposit, do you have the remaining balance?" I nod, "yes. It's right here." I reach down and pull the envelope out of my bag and hand it over to her. She counts it quickly with a nod, "okay, we are all set there." She confirms putting the money away in a lock box and tucking my resume and doctor note into my folder. She pulls a packet out and slides it across the desk with a pen. "Here is the paperwork, info on the school what to expect from training, a standard liability waiver, you know the basics. I'll give you a few minutes to read it over and sign it. I'll be right back."

She leaves the room and I read through the contract and sign it without hesitation. Rachel comes back in a bit later and I hand the contract over to her. She double checks that I got all the pages signed, "ok, looks good. Now, I see you didn't sign up for housing?" She questions and I bite my lower lip. "Yeah…I uh couldn't come up with that money, so I'm just going to find a cheaper alternative for now." I explain and she nods. "That's your choice. Let us know if you need help finding a place." She flips through all the paperwork again before closing the folder. "Ok, everything seems to be in order. You are now an official student of Storm Wrestling Academy." We both stand up and shake hands and she hands me an SWA shirt. "Follow me and you can join the two other new students to watch the end of the first class. They should almost be done. You'll be getting in the ring after the lunch break." She leads me over to the ring and motions for me to take a seat next to two guys who are watching the class going on in the ring. Lance is working with a purple haired girl and three other guys.

I watch intently, looking to pick up anything I can. Lance ends the workout and the three men climb out and join the two new guys and they head off. I stand up as Lance and the female student cross the ring and lean against the ropes by me. "Ravyn I haven't forgotten about you," Lance says addressing he female student, "this is your new training partner Jenny." He finishes before addressing me, "Jenny, how was the drive?" I laugh, "long, I only just got in and drove straight here." Ravyn climbs through the ropes and hops to the floor. "Come on, I'll show you where our locker room is. You can get changed for the afternoon session before we have lunch." She starts walking, not even waiting for me. I grab my duffle and jog the few steps it takes to catch up to her before I fall into step behind her as we cross the warehouse to the women's locker room. Her bag is the only one I see, "are we the only female students?" I ask trying to make conversation tossing my bag into a radom empty locker. Ravyn stands with her arms crossed watching me. "Yup. It's been just me for the last two months. Now it's just us…for now." She answers coldly. I don't look up from where I'm digging through my bag for my workout gear. I shouldn't be surprised that there would be some animosity towards me. "Yeah…I was the only girl at my last place. At least here they will train you. I had to scratch and claw to get even the tiniest bit of ring time. I'm looking forward to finally getting some good training." I admit, hoping to quell the animosity.

Ravyn unfolds her arms, "well, you'll get plenty of that here. Lance is the best. He's honest to a fault, he'll make sure you know exactly what he wants from you." She says grabbing a power bar from her locker, "you're going to want to eat sooner rather than later if you're hungry. Otherwise you'll puke. The afternoon session is usually blowup drills." She informs me. "I'm good, but thanks. I grabbed something on the road while I was driving in." I tell her, I'm too nervous to eat even if I was hungry. "So, where are you from? Lance said something about a long drive?" She asks nibbling her power bar. "I'm from Kansas. It was about a twenty-four hour drive if I kept the stops to a minimum." I tell her as I change. "That's a hell of a drive." She states, "first time in Canada?" I laugh, "it's my first time anywhere that isn't Kansas or Missouri." She smiles ever so slightly before offering to give me a tour before class starts.

I follow her around as she shows me the different workout areas. Free weights, cardio machines, even mirrors so that we can watch our form when lifting. The ring takes up most of the back of he building where it is backed against the wall. I'm itching to get in there. As we are finishing the tour Lance calls everyone to the ring. He has us stretch before sending us on a run. We run a grueling five laps around the huge complex that houses the building. I'm okay for the first two laps, keeping a steady pace with the rest of the class but by the third lap I start getting a cramp in my side that makes the last two laps agonizing. I finish the run grabbing at the stitch in my side, gasping for air as we head back inside and find lance standing on the gym mats.

We start doing some squats, wall sits, pushups, sit ups all at a grueling pace. I'm for once thankful for my lack of ring training. Every time I was denied time in the ring I would bust my ass in the gym working on my strength training and cardio so that when I did get my opportunity I'd be physically ready. The next thing Lance has us do is climb in the ring and asks one of the older students to demonstrate some drills we are going to do. We start with some simple running the ropes drill where we have to criss cross the ring, jumping over the other new students as they drop to the mat and then pop back up. I lose track of how many times I've repeated the motion because I have to focus on my breathing and not tripping over the other students. Finally, Lance tells me to stop and I hunch over catching my breath but I don't get a break before he has us rotate and it becomes my turn to drop to the mat and have to quickly pop back every time one of the other students hits the ropes. I drop to my stomach on the mat and quickly pop back up and drop back down, over and over and over for both of the other new students. My arms are shaking as I try to push myself up one last time as Lance finally blows the whistle. My lungs are on fire as I lay on the mat. I hear retching and for a moment I think I sit up and find my rookie companions each losing their lunch over the edge of the ring.

I crawl to the corner and use the ropes to hoist myself up to a standing position. I look around and see the older students chuckling at the sight before Ravyn catches my eye an di see a look of disappointment cross her face. Looks like I will have some competition on my hands. Lances calls for the end of class and I quickly shower, and change my clothes and head out to my car. I pull out of the parking lot having no idea where I am going. I need to find a job and a cheap place to stay. I only have another one thousands dollars saved up for housing until I can find a job. I stop in a few motels to see what their rates our but find them all to be too expensive. I keep driving before I finally find an extended stay motel so I decide to check it out. When I walk into the lobby my nostrils are assaulted with a horrible smell that actually makes my eyes water. A grungy man with a stained shirt that doesn't fit over his beer belly leers at me as I fork over the nine hundred dollars for a week stay. He hands me a key, grunting directions to my room while lighting up a cigarette.

I head back out to my car opening the trunk, everything I own, which isn't much, is packed away in there. I grab a bag of clothes and my own pillow and blanket and close the trunk. The room is completely disgusting. The comforter on the bed is stained with god knows what, making me not even want to know the state of the rest of the bed. I decide to not even touch the bed, instead I find the chair sitting in the corner to look very appealing. I pull the chair over to the window and put it close enough that I can rest my feet up on the windowsill and try to get comfortable enough to get some sleep. Luckily, I'm exhausted from class today so I pass out quickly despite my less than perfect conditions.

I spend my first week in Canada going to the school, getting killed in class and then as soon as class is over I go out and try to find a job. I keep hitting the same roadblock everywhere I go. No one will give me a job because I don't have a work license and I don't have enough money left to get one. My last night at the motel is a sleepless one as I lay awake all night worrying about what to do next.

I pack everything back into my car before I head to the school. I try to focus on class but my mind keeps wandering. I have fifty Canadian Dollars left to my name and it cost one hundred to get the necessary open work visa. So, things aren't looking good for me when class ends and I have no idea what to do.

I linger in the locker room afraid to leave and face reality. I'm afraid to overstay my welcome though so I sigh, grabbing my bag and head out to the parking lot, nodding a goodnight to Rachel on my way out. I get in my car and start it up, fighting tears of frustration as the fear really starts setting in. I move my car to the far end of the parking lot. I guess living in my car is the only option I have at the moment. I grab my pillow and blanket from the trunk before climbing back into my seat and reclining it back. It takes me a long time to finally fall asleep, and sleep is short as I am awake with the first rays of the sun. I hide out in my corner of the parking lot until I see Lance show to unlock the doors. I wait a couple more minutes before I move my car back to a parking spot in front of the doors. I spend my extra time I have before class working out and doing cardio.

I repeat the process for the next few days, always being the first to show up to class. I'm embarrassed when Lance actually points this out during a training session. I have to try really hard not to blush. I turn away and catch Ravyn's gaze and I can tell she is mad. I just can't win.

At the end of the next week I head out to my car and move it to my corner of the parking lot. I am completely exhausted after a particularly hard class. I count the money I have left and groan when I find it to only be 12 dollars. My funds have quickly diminished and soon I'm going to not have enough for food. I recline my seat, guess I'm skipping dinner tonight. I start to get myself settled in with my blanket and pillow. I sit up, attempting to untangle to the blanket around my legs, the temps are beginning to drop rapidly as fall is turning into winter.

A movement in my peripheral vision catches my eye. I turn my head and freeze. To my horror Ravyn is standing with her key frozen halfway to the lock of her car door. We make eye contact and she gives a slight wave, and begins walking to my car, so I use the lever to manually roll down my window, my stomach twisting into knots. "Um, hi." I say sheepishly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Ummm, hi." I say sheepishly. "Hey…you okay? Car break down?" She asks before nervously laughing, "or are you sleeping here?" I can tell she is joking but I blush madly, looking down at the blanket in my lap. "Well, that explains a lot." She says, and before I know it she is inviting me to stay on her couch. I'm totally taken aback. Ravyn and I haven't particularly gotten along since I got to Canada, with us being the only two girls there had been an obvious rivalry between us to be better than the other in our training.

Embarrassed beyond belief I agree to accept her charitable offer and follow her to her apartment. She stops to get us some food on the way and before I know it we are in her apartment nibbling silently on French fries, an awkward tension between us. After we eat she shows me where I can clean up in the apartments single small bathroom. I shower, allowing the lukewarm water to try and soothe my nerves and try to get a grasp on what I would do next. I slip back out to the couch after the water runs cold, sitting at one end, my feet tucked underneath me, wet hair hanging down around my shoulders. Ravyn comes out of the kitchen with two steaming mugs in her hands. She hands me one of the mugs. I take a sip of the rich chocolatey liquid, but soon cough at a strong after taste. Ravyn chuckles, "there, isn't that better?" I cough once more before taking another sipping, enjoying the spiked hot chocolate more this time before knowing what to expect. I set the mug next to me on the end table. "So, all the way from the Midwest huh? Why here?" she inquires. "I heard Lance had one of the best schools. Plus, he has ties to the WWE which I'm hoping will be helpful later…and honestly…I just needed to get away." I admit reaching for a hair tie out of my bag and pulling my wet hair up into a messy bun on top of my head. "Well, if you're trying to run away Calgary is a great place for that. Things not so good in Kansas?" She asks gently. I laugh nervously, "that's putting it mildly." She backs off her questions. "Well, you're welcome to stay here. The couch is yours for crashing and if you want to talk, I'm here."

Tears immediately spring to my eyes and I hastily wipe them away. "I'm sorry I'm not usually like this." I say laughing with embarrassment. I compose myself, sniffing, deciding that if she is going to trust me enough to let met stay in her home that I can trust her with my story. "I've uh…" I stop to clear my throat. "I was in the foster care system for eight years. Bouncing around from place to place and depending on complete strangers to take care of me isn't a new thing…but you are the first person to take in my because you wanted to…not because you had to." I say, attempting to express my gratitude, more tears silently sliding down my cheek as Ravyn hands me a tissue. "Don't let where you come from define you, and like I said, if you need anything I'm here." I dab at my eyes with the tissue. "I was just really hoping to finally be able to stand on my own two feet, but it only took me one week to fail at that and I was forced to live in my car for two weeks." I can't help but laugh. "I guess I lose at the adulting game." Ravyn smiles reassuringly at me, "you just drove across the country with nothing but what you had in your car. You're taking a chance on a dream. Fortune favors the bold. Don't let it go to waste, we'll get you a work visa and then you'll be able to make some money. So what? You stumbled. It happens. Now we're going to work our asses off and make sure people all over the world will now who we are and where we come from." A genuine smile crosses my face at her words. "Did we just become friends?" I joke and she smiles back, "yup." We laughing, clinking our mugs and continue to talk late into the night.

I wake up having gotten the best nights sleep I had since arriving in Canada curled up on Ravyn's couch. We happen to have an off day so Ravyn takes me straight to get my work visa and we spend the afternoon job hunting. It takes some time but we luckily find a part time job in a small shop that is willing to work with my training schedule at Lance's school.

We finish off our training course at Lance's and both graduate. We stay on at the school to continue training as we begin dipping our toes into the local indy scene. After a few months we start getting some regular bookings with a few of the smaller promotions in the area, then by the end of our first year we had put in enough work to have earned the reputation of being good workers and started branching out to bigger promotions and soon we are traveling all over Canada and parts of the US. My second winter in Canada takes me on my first Canadian Death Tour. I have never been so scared in my entire life I was in that moment as the van cruised across the frozen lake, I was convinced that at any minute the ice would crack and we would go crashing into the ice cold water.

Time passes and the Death Tours become old habit. After a particularly chilly tour Ravyn and I stumble through the doors of SWA, exhausted and still trying to thaw out. The van drops us off at the school and we stumble through the doors exhausted. We can see Lance on the phone in his office, he waves us over when he sees us through the window. We quietly open the door to hear him saying his goodbyes as we enter, taking seats across from his desk just as he hangs up the phone. He looks us over with a slight smirk, "so, you survived another tour. How are you feeling?" I stifle a yawn behind my hand, "I'm still trying to thaw out." I admit as Ravyn just groans. "Well then I have some good news. How would you girls like to go to sunny Orlando Florida?" Ravyn and I exchange a glance. "Well, that's definitely warmer than hear. What's the promotion?" Ravyn asks, "so, it's not an indy book. It's a tryout." Lance informs us and I snort. "What is Disney World putting on wrestling shows now?" I joke as Lance grins. "Not quite. Have you heard of FCW?" He questions, knowing full well we know the name, and what it represents, "the developmental program for WWE?!" I ask freaking out.

Both Lance and Ravyn chuckle at my outburst before Lance goes on to explain that WWE reached out to rebrand FCW and is looking for new talent to fill their roster. "I may have thrown your names their way." He finishes. "You did not." I say in disbelief. "You mean…we are going to a WWE tryout?" Ravyn askes completely stunned. "That's exactly what I mean." Lance confirms. "Now it won't be fun. It's four days of intense training, and then they'll take a couple of weeks to decide if they want to sign you or not." He warns us. "I…uh…wow." I stammer, lost for words. "When do we go?" Ravyn asks. We will be leaving in two weeks, Lance informs us. He says that he will call in a favor with WWE to get our travel expenses covered. "Until then, I expect you guys here every day. You're representing me and my school when you are down there." He emphasizes and I nod. "We'll do our best to make you proud Lance." I say hoping to live up to those words. "I know you tow won't let me down. now get out of here, I have work to do."

We scamper out of his office nearly tripping over each other as we grab our bags and run to the locker room. Once the door closes behind us we allow ourselves to completely freak out. "Holy shit! Can you believe this!?" Ravyn asks me grabbing my shoulders. "I want to scream right now! That really just happened right? I' not delusional, still frozen in a van on the tour?" I ask, not sure what to believe. "We're actually going to Florida in two weeks to try out for the WW fucking E!" I all but scream clapping my hand giddily as Ravyn and I both start jumping around squealing like maniacs.

We bust our asses over the next two weeks leading into the tryout and before either of us is ready we are on a plane to Florida. We pick up our rental car and head to our hotel close to where our tryouts will take place. We hit the hotel gym wanting to get in one final work out before we grab some food and head to bed early. I'm too nervous to get much sleep so I'm already up when the alarm goes off. We change into our workout gear and head to the dilapidated warehouse that currently houses FCW. The trainers lecture us on what to expect over the next few days. My eyes wander, scanning the room full of my fellow hopeful tryout participants there are about 15 men and only three other women plus the two of us. When the lecturing ends, we go through some intense stretching drills and just like my first day in Calgary we go on a grueling run. Before we can make it back to the warehouse three men, and one of the women have quit the tryouts. We get a brief five minute water break before the real work begins. We are split into two groups, there is only one ring in the warehouse so while one group works in the ring the rest of us do cardio drills outside the ring. My limbs are on fire when my group rotates into the ring. I attempt to psych myself up telling myself that I've been working my too hard to make it to this moment only to fuck it up.

They release us around dinner time and after a quick shower and a change of clothes Ravyn and I drag ourselves out of the warehouse, stop for some food on our way back the hotel and drag ourselves up to our room. I set my good down and collapse onto the bed. "I'm too sore to even eat." I grumble, not wanting to move. I hear the other bed creak as Ravyn sinks down on it. "Tell me about it, and we still have three ore days of this so we probably should eat something to keep our strength up." She says wisely and I groan, rolling over with a wince and sitting back up. We eat quickly and pass out.

The next two days of training are just as bad as the first. On the fourth and final day those of us who haven't dropped out are paired up to put on a match. I'm relieved when Ravyn and I are paired together because I know that with our experience together, we will make the other shine. I enter the ring with shaking hands, my nerves getting the better of me until the moment we lock up. We put on a flawless match each showcasing our in ring strengths until they call for us to stop. We climb out of the ring sharing a grin with each other sharing a grin with each other knowing we just gave it our all.

Exhausted we head back to Calgary to anxiously await WWE's decision. A week passes by and then another. Soon, I have lost all faith in hearing from them as an entire month has soon passed. Since the tryout we've continued to train at Lance's and work the territories of Canada. News starts to filter out about FCW being rebranded as NXT and the incredible state of the art facility that has been built to house it. I try to not be discouraged by their silence, but it's hard to not be negative. After another couple weeks with no word I have finally lost all faith hand resign myself that I will never work for WWE. Then out of the blue while Ravyn and I are driving to Edmonton for a show Lance calls us. I put the call on speaker at his request. He tells us WWE finally called back and that they want us both in Florida in two months. We both scream, freaking out. Our show that night is the best we have ever had, adrenaline running through our veins at the news we received earlier that day.

Lance helps us find an affordable one bedroom apartment close to the NXT Performance Center and soon we pack up our eager belongings, fit shove them all in Ravyn's car, my car only lasted about a year after my move to Canada before biting the dust.

It takes us four days to drive from Calgary to Orlando and we are completely spent as we check in at the apartment complex office to get keys and directions to our unit. We are lucky to a have a bottom floor apartment so moving in is easy. We spend the rest of the afternoon buying cheap furniture off Craig's List. We can only find one decent looking and affordable bed so I volunteer to sleep on the couch we bought until something becomes available. I'd spent the last few years sleeping on a couch a few more weeks wouldn't kill me. We splurge on paying extra to have the furniture delivered to us, too exhausted to attempt it ourselves.

Our first weekend in Florida is spent turning the apartment into home. We hang pictures from our time in Canada, cook our first meal, with potatoes as a side dish of course and get ourselves ready to begin the next chapter of our wrestling careers on Monday when we are due at the Performance Center. I'm more nervous than I was for the tryouts as we walk through the front doors for the first time. We are greeted by the receptionist and begin filling out all our necessary paperwork and get introduced to one of the head trainers Sara Amato. She shows us to the women's locker room where we find two lockers side by side with our names written on tape. I place my bag in the locker and sit down on the bench. I allow my mind a minute to wander and imagine what my future will bring if I manage to make my stint in WWE successful. Am I really about to make my dreams come true? I smile, letting out a nervous breath before changing into my workout gear complete with a 'Property of WWE Performance Center' tee.


End file.
